
(h3 



diversity oi the State oi New York Bulletin 

Entered as second-class matter August 2, 1913, at the Post Office at Albany, N. Y,, 
under the act of August 24, 191 2 

Published fortnightly 



No. 696 ALBANY, N. Y. October 15, 1919 



THE RURAL HOT LUNCH AND THE NUTRITION 
OF THE RURAL CHILD 

PREPARED BY MARY G. MCCORMICK, SUPERVISOR OF THE NUTRITION 
<5'f SCHOOL CHILDREN 

Experiments have shown that the nutritive requirements of 
children are high: a growing girl may need more food than her 
mother needs, and a growing boy's food requirements may exceed 
those of his father. Since the energy expenditure is a large factor 
in determining the total food requirement, those children whose 
energy expenditure is greater, other things being equal, will require 
a greater amount of food. The child who has manual tasks to per- 
form at home, who walks a long distance to and from school and 
after school again does manual work, must necessarily need more 
food than does the child who has no duties at home and who either 
lives near his schoolhouse or has easy access to it by cars. Rural 
children, therefore, under these circumstances must necessarily have 
a relatively high food requirement. Three substantial meals a day 
should be supplied to satisfy their needs. Fortunate is the child 
who receives an adequate breakfast, a substantial dinner and a 
suitable supper; whose food not only is adjusted to his digestive 
capacity, but is eaten under circumstances that promote and not 
hinder digestion. 

Three substantial meals a day — and yet how may this ideal be 
accomplished, if the child must carry his noon meal to school in a 
box? The food in a lunch box is almost necessarily cold and con- 
centrated; yet digestion is facilitated by warmth and dilution. 
Eating a box lunch is in a sense a solitary process; yet digestion 
is favored by pleasant social intercourse. Nor are the children the 
only ones who suffer from the cold lunch; the teacher after a taxing 
morning session, finds little in her lunch box that stimulates appetite 

D98r-Ja20-I2,500 (7-4993) 






and induces relaxation. A midday meal of cold food, eaten five 
days a week, throughout the school year is almost certain to have 
a harmful effect on the health of both teacher and children. 

To improve the character of the noon meal, the practice of pre- 
paring at school one hot dish is rapidly growing. The teachers 
who have tried it are enthusiastic about its results, and say that: 

i The children are more attentive in the afternoon. 

2 The noon hour is much easier for the teacher; even one hot 
dish has a soothing effect, and teacher and pupils sit down to a 
quiet social meal. 

3 It affords the tactful teacher an opportunity to make sug- 
gestions concerning the kinds of foods children should bring in 
their lunch boxes from home. She may announce the hot dish for 
the next day, and then advise the children regarding the food that 
will be good supplements to that hot dish. Many lessons in 
nutrition may thus be taught. 

4 Children who at home are allowed to cultivate likes and dislikes 
in regard to food, at school learn to eat what the other children 
are eating. Having acquired a taste for these foods at school the 
children ask for them at home; thus the influence spreads from the 
school to the home. 

5 The tactful teacher will also be able to train the children into 
habits of consideration for others and the observance of the usual 
forms of good table manners. 

6 When there are foreign-born children in the rural school, the 
noon lunch becomes a method for teaching them American cooking. 
On the other hand, the foreign-born may enrich our knowledge of 
cookery by teaching us their own methods of preparing food. 

The food prepared in school should be simple in character in order 
that it may be eaten by the younger as well as by the older children. 
Milk should be used very frequently as it is rich in building material. 
The recipe selected should be such as may be prepared in a short 
time and with the limited equipment available in a rural school. 
The following recipes are suggested. It is expected that only one 
hot dish will be prepared each day. Even such a simple food as 
a cup of hot cocoa will be a most welcome and valuable addition 
to the child's lunch, and will be relished by the children day after 
day. As the teacher organizes her work, however, and as the pupils 
become more skilled in assisting her, she will become ambitious to 

ft •"! f* SJ 



introduce some of the other dishes. The following abbreviations 
are used: 

c. = cup or cups Measures: 

tb. — tablespoon 3 t. =1 tb. 

t. = teaspoon l6 tb. = 1 cup (dry measure) 

qt. = quart 
lb. = pound 

The quantities specified will serve 24 children. 





Recipes 






Cocoa 




f c. cocoa 
f c. sugar 
1 t. salt 




1 quart water 
4 quarts milk 



Heat the milk in a pan on the asbestos mat. Mix together the 
cocoa, sugar and salt. Boil the water. Add the cocoa, sugar and 
salt mixture slowly to the boiling water. Boil three or four minutes. 
Stir to prevent burning. Add the hot milk. 

Com soup 

corn, canned 8 c. butter 2 o tb 

w ^er I qt. salt 2 tb.' 

™ llk 4 qts. pepper ft. 

tiour 2 ° tb - onion i sm all onion sliced 

Let corn and water simmer for 20 minutes. Press through coarse 
strainer. Place onion in milk and set on asbestos mat to scald. 
Remove onion from scalded milk. Melt butter in pan, add flour 
and seasonings and stir till smooth. Add the scalded milk gradually 
and when well blended, cook in the double boiler for half an hour. 
Add the strained corn and serve. 

Peanut butter soup 

milk 4 qts. salt x tD 

peanut butter 2 c. pepper , t ' 

flour lie. hot water ........[[ 1 qt. 

Reserve some of the milk to mix with the flour. Scald the 
remainder of the milk. Add the hot water to the peanut butter 
and stir till well blended. Add to the scalded milk. Remove some 
of the soup and add to it the moistened flour. Cook for a few 
minutes. Add to the remainder of the soup. 



Pea soup (made from canned peas) 

canned peas ioc. butter 20 tb. 

water I qt. flour 20 tb. 

sugar 4 tb. salt 15 tb. 

milk 4qts. . pepper § tb. 

onion 2 small onion sliced 

Place the onion in the milk and set the milk on the asbestos mat 
to scald. Drain the peas. Simmer in the water with the sugar 
for about five minutes. Press through strainer. Remove the onion 
from the milk. Melt butter in pan, add flour and seasoning and 
stir till smooth. Add the scalded milk gradually and when well 
blended, cook in the double boiler for half an hour. Add the 
strained peas and serve. 

Pea soup (made from dried peas) 

dried peas 5 c. flour 8 tb. 

cold water 9 q ts - butter 8 tb. 

salt pork or bacon \ lb. salt 2 tb. 

Wash dried peas carefully. Soak overnight in half of the water. 

In the morning add the remainder of the 9 quarts of water, add 

the pork or bacon and simmer 3 hours. Remove pork or bacon 

and press peas through sieve. Melt butter, add flour and blend. 

Add small quantity of the soup to the butter and flour and boil 

for a few minutes. It will be necessary to stir constantly to prevent 

burning. Then add to the remainder of the soup. Season with 

the salt. 

Potato soup 

milk 5 qts. salt 2§ tb. 

onion I sliced pepper J t. 

butter 10 tb. potatoes, medium size 15 or 16 

flour IO tb. 

Wash and pare potatoes. Dice them. Cook in boiling salted 
water for 20 minutes. Drain, press the potatoes through a strainer. 
Place milk in pan with onion to scald on the asbestos mat. After 
milk is scalded , remove onion. Melt butter in pan, add flour and 
seasonings and stir till smooth. Add the scalded milk gradually and 
when well blended, cook in the double boiler for half an hour. Add 
the strained potatoes and serve. 

Chopped parsley is a pleasing addition to potato soup. Parsley 
may be grown in a window box at school. It is an ornament to 
the room as well as a garnish for food. 



Tomato soup 

tomato pulp 2 \ qts. flour. . . T 1 r 

f u Sar 4 tb. butter .' A' 

bay leaf i sa i t J J: 

baking soda i t. pepper. . l f ' 

milk 2|qts. a 

Cook tomatoes, sugar and bay leaf together for about 20 minutes. 
Press through strainer. Add soda. Melt butter in pan, add flour 
and seasonings and stir till smooth. Add the scalded milk gradually 
and when well blended, cook in the double boiler for half an hour. 
Add the strained tomatoes and serve. 

Creamed toast 

bread 24 slices flour . o tb 

mil k 2 qts. salt '. 2t ' 

butter 8tb. pepper '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 1 t. 

Toast the bread. Melt the butter in a pan, add the flour and 
seasonings and stir till smooth. Add the scalded milk gradually 
and when well blended, cook in the double boiler for half an hour. 
Pour one-third of a cup over each slice of toast. 

Scrambled ees:s 



56~ 



e SS s 24 pepper 1 *■ 

milk 1 i c. butter. . . I f l 

salt 3 t. 6tb " 

Beat the eggs until the yolks and whites are well mixed, add the 
milk and seasoning. Three pans will be needed for this quantity 
of eggs. Heat the pans, remove from the fire and add 2 tablespoons 
of butter to each pan. When the butter has melted, pour in the 
egg mixture; cook slowly. Scrape the mixture from the bottom of 
the pan as it cooks. Cooking over a heat that is too intense or 
cooking continued for too long a time renders the eggs tough. 

Spanish rice 

rice 2 e. butter 8 tb 

tomatoes 8 c. onion T o ' 11 

sugar 4 tb. salt ..'.'.'.'.'.'.'. \\" 2t 

flour 8 tb. pepper i t ' 

Boil the rice in a large volume of water for 20 minutes. Drain 
off all the water. Cook the tomato, onion and sugar until the 
tomato is soft; about 20 minutes will be required. Strain. Melt 
the butter in a pan, add the flour, salt and pepper and stir until 
smooth, add the tomato juice to the butter and flour, and cook 
until thick. Add the rice and reheat. 



6 

Baked potatoes 

Wash a potato for every child. Place in a hot oven and bake 
for 45 minutes. When baked, prick with a fork to allow the steam 
to escape. 

Sweet potatoes as well as white potatoes may be baked. 

Creamed vegetables 

Carrots, peas, celery, turnips, potatoes and onions may be served 

with a white sauce. The vegetables should be washed, pared, cut 

into small pieces and cooked till soft. From one-third to one-half 

of a cup makes a good serving. Pour equal quantity of white sauce 

over the vegetables. 

White sauce 

milk 2 qts. salt 2 t. 

flour 8 tb. pepper | t. 

butter 8 tb. 

Place the milk in a saucepan on the asbestos mat to scald. Melt 
butter in pan, add flour and seasonings and stir till smooth. Add 
the scalded milk gradually and when well blended cook in the double 
boiler for half an hour. Pour the white sauce over the cooked 
vegetables. 

Creamed macaroni may also be made by allowing for each child, 
one-quarter of a cup of macaroni broken into inch pieces. Boil 
the macaroni in boiling salted water for 25 minutes. Drain off all 
the water. Pour the white sauce over it. 

On warm days, one may add to the attractiveness and value of 
the school lunch by preparing a dessert to be served cold. The 
following recipes are suggested. 

Soft custard 

milk 2 qts. salt |t. 

eggs 8 vanilla 2 t. 

sugar 1 c. 

Scald the milk. Add the sugar to the milk and stir till dissolved. 
Beat eggs slightly, and add the salt. Pour the hot milk gradually 
into the beaten eggs. Cook in double boiler. Stir constantly until 
the mixture coats the spoon. Remove immediately from the heat 
and pour into a cool dish. After the custard has cooled add the 
vanilla. This custard when cold may be poured over lady fingers 
and an appetizing and nutritious dessert is produced. 



Junket 

milk 3 qts. junket tablets 3 

sugar 12 tb. vanilla 3 tb. 

Crush the junket tablets in about 3 teaspoons of cold water. Add 
the sugar to the milk and heat very carefully until lukewarm. Stir 
to help dissolve the sugar. Pour the dissolved junket tablets into 
the lukewarm milk, stir, add the vanilla and pour at once into 
cups. It must stand in a warm room undisturbed, until it is firm. 
Then remove to a cool place. Just before serving, one may add to 
each cup a teaspoonful of grape jelly or marmalade. The pulp 
from stewed dates or prunes may be used in the same way. 

If there is no double boiler in the equipment, the pan containing 
the food to be cooked may be placed in a larger pan of boiling water. 

Organization of Work 

If the hot lunch plan is a new one in the school district, the task 
of procuring the equipment will fall to the present teacher. The 
parents should be invited to a meeting at the schoolhouse where 
the hot lunch may be explained. A list of necessary utensils should 
be made and donations of utensils invited. Probably most of the 
needed articles can be secured in this way. Many school stoves 
used for heating are adapted to cooking also. If the school stove 
has no space for cooking, it will be necessary to procure a kerosene 
stove. Funds for this may often be raised by a school entertainment. 

After the equipment is secured, the daily routine of work must 
be so planned as to consume as little time as possible. The foods 
for each of the five days should be planned a week ahead and supplies 
ordered in good season. The children old enough to be of real 
assistance should be organized into three groups: group A, cooks 
the food; group B, serves the food; group C, washes and dries the 
dishes, replaces dishes and food supplies. 

Duties of group A. Study the recipe the day before it is cooked. 
Determine the quantities of materials needed and become familiar 
with the method of combining them. On the day when the food 
is to be cooked, measure the ingredients before school or at recess. 
At the required time before noon, start the cooking of the food; 
keep it warm until ready to serve. 

Duties of group B. Serving may be done in either of two ways: 
(1) children may remain in their seats while the servers pass the 
■cooked food to them; (2) children pass before the serving table 
where each one receives his portion and carries it to his seat. The 
second plan is the better one if the school is large. 



Duties of group C. Have hot water ready at the end of the meal; 
scrape all the dishes, stack them; then place the hot water in two 
dish pans. Wash the dishes in one dish pan using soap; do not 
waste the soap by allowing it to remain unnecessarily long in the 
water. As each dish is washed place it in the second pan of hot 
water. When the second pan of hot water is filled with dishes, 
place it on the stove and allow the water to boil around the dishes 
for about 5 minutes; this is for the purpose of sterilization. Then 
dry the dishes. Clean the tables and rinse out the dish towels and 
dish cloths in hot water and hang in the sun to dry. Once a week 
the towels and dish cloths should be laundered ; some of the children 
should take them home for this purpose. 

A fireless cooker may be used with advantage in preparing many 
foods. The principle upon which the use of the fireless cooker is 
based, is that food when heated will retain its heat for a long time, 
if it is surrounded by materials that are poor conductors of heat. 
The teacher should send to the Division of Publications, United 
States Department of Agriculture, for Farmers Bulletin 771, " Home- 
made Fireless Cookers and Their Use." It may be obtained free 
of cost. 

Distribution of Cost 

Whenever possible the children should bring from home the foods 
needed for the hot dishes. Each child should bring milk when 
cocoa is to be made; he should bring an egg when scrambled eggs 
are to be prepared; a potato when baked potatoes are to be served, 
etc. It is more practicable for the teacher to provide the cocoa, 
sugar, etc., and to divide the cost for these and for the fuel among 
the pupils. 

Food Values of Milk 

There should be a liberal use of milk in the child's dietary; not 
only is milk easy of digestion but it is richly supplied with building 
material and also contains the growth promoting substances. It is 
in addition a good source of energy. The following chart will explain 
by means of comparison with other foods two of the nutritive 
properties of milk — its energy and its calcium. Children should 
be encouraged to take one quart of milk a day. If each of the three 
meals contains one cup of milk and if a light lunch of milk and a 
sandwich after school be provided at home, the quart of milk will 
have been drunk. It is quite desirable therefore that the noon 
lunch very frequently contain one cup of milk per child. 



SOME FOOD VALUES OF MILK 




Energy Value 


Calcium Value 




i quart of milk yields 


The comparative amounts of cal- 1 




675 Calories for 


cium in a standard portion of ! 




energy. 


milk, beans and meat. 




It requires 1 lb. lean 






beef or 1 lb. lean 






lamb or 2 lbs. 






fresh codfish or 9 






eggs to give the 






same amount of 






energy. 




1 






td 

CD 








St 
CD 



















10 

How often one finds rural children who refuse to drink milk. 
Does the rural child associate milk with the barns which are some- 
times in an insanitary condition? Does his dislike for it arise from 
the fact that the milk which is given him is often slightly sour owing 
to the lack of ice? Though the children decline to drink milk, their 
need for it continues. They must be taught to realize the necessity 
for a plentiful and frequent use of cream soups (made with milk), 
or rice and tapioca pudding (made with milk), or cocoa, junket etc. 

Equipment 

A suggested list of equipment includes: 

Shelf for holding lunch boxes. 

Cupboard. One may be inexpensively made from a dry-goods 
packing box, the top surface of which is also used as a table: or, 
the underside of a kitchen table may be inclosed with boards and 
a shelf placed in the inclosed space. All foods and cooking utensils 
must be protected from dust. 

Containers for holding groceries. Mason jars may be used for 
this purpose. 

Stove. If a kerosene stove is used, it must be cleaned daily, and 
precautions taken against accidents by fire. 

Utensils used for cooking and cleaning: 

2 saucepans i quart measure 

I double boiler I soup ladle 

I measuring cup I spatula 

I strainer I tray 

I egg beater ■ I mixing bowl 

I wooden spoon I frying pan 

I paring knife 2 dish pans 

I kitchen fork I soap dish 

I can opener I asbestos mat 

I tablespoon dishtowels and dishcloths 

I teaspoon 

The pupils may bring from home their individual cup, plate, 
knife, fork and spoon. 

The Lunch Box 

The success of a box lunch depends partly on the kind of box 
used to hold it. A metal box of simple construction is the most 
sanitary, as it may be easily and thoroughly washed. If a tin pail 
is used, it should have perforations for ventilation. 

The food in the lunch box should be carefully packed. There 
should be jars with screw tops or jelly glasses with tightly fitting 
covers for the liquid or semisolid food. All sandwiches, cookies 
etc. should be separately and securely wrapped in paraffin paper. 



11 

The box should be firmly packed and the heaviest articles placed 
on the bottom. There should be two napkins; one to serve as 
tablecloth on the child's desk, the other for his personal use while 
eating. When the child reaches school in the morning, his lunch 
box should be placed on the lunchbox shelf where it should remain 
until noon. The children under eight years of age and under- 
nourished children (as explained elsewhere in this pamphlet) may 
have at recess time an extra feeding of bread and milk; but the 
practice of allowing other children to eat their lunch at the morning 
recess is to be strongly condemned. 

The foundation of the school lunch must be sandwiches. Bread 
is nutritious and easy of digestion. Its flavor is so neutral that one 
does not tire of it. It makes a good background for the numerous 
kinds of filling. It is inexpensive. The bread used for sandwiches 
should be one day old and the slices should be evenly cut. The 
butter spreads more easily if it is creamed. One may cream butter 
by mixing it with a spoon or placing it in a warm oven for a few 
minutes. When both sides of the sandwich are spread with butter, 
there is less possibility of absorption of the filling. 

There is a wide variety in the kind of bread that may be used 
for sandwiches: brown, date, graham, nut, oatmeal, raisin, rye and 
white. There is also a wide choice possible for the filling. The 
following kinds of filling are suggested: 

Meats. Tender meat should be sliced thin. Tough meat should 
be ground in food chopper and moistened with salad dressing or 
with cream and rubbed to a paste; chopped celery is a good addition.. 

Fish. Creamed salmon, canned sardines freed from bones or tuna 
fish mixed to a paste with salad dressing or with lemon juice . 
Chopped celery is a good addition. 

Eggs. Cooked hard, minced and moistened with salad dressing 
or cream. 

Nuts. Chopped and mixed with dates, or figs or cottage cheese; 
or ground to a paste, as in peanut butter. 

Cheese. Hard cheese should be used in slices, or grated. Soft 
cheese, such as cottage cheese or cream cheese, may be used alone 
or combined with chopped pimentos or olives or nuts. 

Jelly or marmalade. Should be used in small quantities as very 
sweet food is apt to irritate the stomach of young children. 

Dates, figs, raisins. May be ground to a paste, and moistened 
with cream or with fruit juice. 

Lettuce or chopped celery. Used with salad dressing. 



12 



Suggestions for the Noon Lunch 

The teacher in discussing the food requirements for children will 
often be asked to recommend suitable lunches. A series of six 
lunches is here presented: the food prepared at school is printed 
in italics. The absence of pie is to be noted; the only cake used 
is sponge cake and cookies. Relishes, such as nuts and celery, are 
frequently used. Dates and milk chocolate also add to the attrac- 
tiveness of the lunch. Milk appears in some form in each lunch. 



Cream of pea soup 

Haisin and nut sandwiches 

Apple 

Sponge cake 



Boston brown bread sandwiches with 

cottage cheese filling 
Dates 

Apple sauce 
Cocoa 



Cream of tomato soup 

Sardine sandwiches 

Prunes stuffed with cottage cheese 

Milk chocolate 



Cream of potato soup (parsley) 
Peanut butter sandwiches 
Stewed figs 



Meat sandwiches 

Celery 

Tomatoes and rice 

Canned berries and graham crackers 

Cup of milk 



Scrambled eggs 
Cup of milk 
Celery sandwiches 
Salted peanuts 
Orange 
Molasses cookie 



The lunch of children under eight years of age should be very 
simple: it may consist of cocoa or cream soups; simple bread and 
butter sandwiches; and cooked fruit. They should have a mid- 
morning feeding of bread and milk and, if they remain in school 
until 4 o'clock, it is quite desirable that they have another similar 
feeding in the middle of the afternoon session. 



The Day's Meals 

The noon lunch is only one of the required daily meals. However 
satisfactory it is, it must be preceded by an adequate breakfast 
and followed by a suitable evening meal. For the children who 
manifest hunger about 4 o'clock and whose evening meal cannot be 
served until 6 or 6.30 o'clock, an after-school lunch of bread and 
milk or cocoa and a sandwich should be provided at home. 

Instruction should be given to all school children regarding their 
food requirement. The instruction given to the rural child should 
be based on an understanding of the conditions under which he 
.lives. As previously stated, his energy expenditure is relatively 



large: yet he is only a child and has only a child's digestive power. 
Moreover, seated at the same table with him are the adult members 
of the household who are generally engaged in heavy work. Their 
maturity and their active out-of-door life, however, tend to develop 
in them sturdy digestive powers, and to enable them to digest food 
that is complex in nature. Familiarity with farm homes quickly 
convinces one that the food on the table satisfies the taste of the 
-adults rather than the needs of the children. How often the dessert 
is pie; how frequently, rich cake with heavy icing is offered to the 
sensitive stomachs of little children. The average mother, of course, 
is too busy to prepare separate menus for the children. Until the 
adult members of the family realize that the children's requirements 
should be considered first and until they are willing to adapt their 
own eating habits to the foods that are also suitable to children, it 
"will be necessary to teach boys and girls that they must abstain 
from the rich cake and pies that their parents are eating, and to 
take fruit instead. The food supply of the farm home generally 
"will permit this adaptation without imposing on the mother the 
extra duty of preparing a separate dessert for the children. In the 
'autumn months the fresh fruit is available; in the spring and winter 
months canned fruit and berries may be used, and of these the farm 
home usually has an abundance. For the growing child a dessert 
of canned pears and graham crackers or other hard cookie is 
immeasurably superior to cake and pie. 

Nor is the dinner the only meal needing censorship. How common 
is the practice of permitting boys and girls of tender years to con- 
sume towering piles of pancakes — soft pancakes, dripping with. 
rich syrup and swallowed with scarcely any mastication. How 
preferable is hard crisp toast, which requires thorough chewing, 
=a process that benefits teeth as well as digestion. Children may 
be taught to prepare the toast themselves. 

The teacher should tell her pupils that their breakfast is an 
important meal of the day. The children should prepare for break- 
fast intelligently, first, by developing an appetite by means of 
sufficient sleep in well-ventilated rooms; secondly, by arising early 
enough to have ample time for eating. The breakfast should 
consist of: 

Fruit — either fresh or cooked dried fruit. 

Cereal — well-cooked oatmeal, cornmeal and whole wheat should 
be used frequently. 

Toast and butter — whole wheat or graham bread may be toasted 
as well as white bread and is richer in building material. 

Milk — may be given warm or made into a cup of cocoa. 



11 

The lunch when eaten at school may consist of nut or meat or 
cheese sandwich (simple bread and butter sandwiches for the children 
under eight years of age) ; cup of cocoa or soup ; and a simple dessert 
such as custard or fruit and cookie. An occasional use of sweet 
chocolate is allowable. 

The lunch after school should be a very simple one: a glass of 
milk and a slice of bread. 

For the evening meal, cream of pea soup, egg omelet (parsley),, 
warmed-over potatoes, stewed tomatoes, bread and butter, canned, 
berries and graham crackers are suggested. 

Good Table Manners 

Eating should be considered from an esthetic as well as from a 
physiological viewpoint. What a welcome dinner companion is the 
person whose table manners are beyond reproach'! How often one- 
is judged by his behavior at table, and condemned if that behavior 
does not meet the generally accepted social standards. The teacher 
during the noon lunch is in a position to give the pupils training; 
in the usual observances of table etiquette, which like all good 
manners are based on kindness and sanitation. The pupils shoald 
wash their hands before eating. They should eat slowly and masti- 
cate their food thoroughly. No matter how busy the day, aax 
atmosphere of leisure should surround the table. One should not 
wash down his food with liquid such as water or cocoa or soup. 
One should not talk while there is food in his mouth. The drinking 
of liquids and the chewing of food should be a noiseless process.. 
The knife should be used only to cut the food. The knife and fork 
when not in use should be placed side by side on the plate; they 
should also be left there at the close of the meal. The spoon should, 
never be allowed to remain in the cup. 

Nutrition and Weight 

The weight of a child whose nutritional requirements are satisfies! 
will increase steadily. Normal weight therefore is an index of good 
nutrition. Tables have been formulated giving normal weights for 
boys and girls of different ages and heights. These tables iiave 
been adopted by the United States Bureau of Education and by 
New York State Department of Education and are included in this 
pamphlet. It is recommended that wherever possible the children. 
be weighed monthly, and their weight recorded on the classroom. 
weight record chart. In a school child, a variation of a pound or 



15 

"two from the normal weight may be disregarded. When, however, 
a. child's weight is 10 per cent or more below the normal, he falls 
into the class of the undernourished. 

As it is physically impossible for an undernourished child to 
develop along normal lines, a defective body structure, with its 
accompanying lowered resistance to disease and its impaired efficiency, 
is the inevitable result. Such a child is in urgent need of advice. 
He should be weighed weekly and his weight recorded. The teacher 
should question him regarding his habits. It will often be found 
that he is not drinking milk, that he uses tea and coffee, and does 
not go to bed early. Instruction should be given him regarding 
his food and other health habits. One quart of milk a day should 
be recommended to him: he must not drink tea and coffee, and 
must increase his hours of sleep. It may be necessary for him to 
take a rest period during the day time. The teacher may do more 
than give advice. She may make it possible for him to leave his 
work in the middle of the morning and the middle of the afternoon 
and take a supplementary feeding of a cup of milk and some bread. 
The child should understand that he should bring from home extra 
food for these supplementary feedings; that they are additional 
meals in his day's schedule, and in no sense is his noon lunch to be 
diminished because of them. 

A child's health and growth are very responsive to good feeding; 
it is not difficult to effect a marked improvement in an under- 
nourished child by attention to his diet. His interest in his own 
liealth is very much stimulated, however, when he sees that his 
efforts in health improvement are resulting in measurable gains. 
Hence the undernourished child should be weighed weekly. A scale 
in the schoolhouse becomes an instrument on which are recorded 
the child's achievements in health. 



16 



Height and weight table for girls 



Height 

Inches 


■ 
5 

Yrs. 


6 

Yrs. 


7 
Yrs. 


8 
Yrs. 


9 

Yrs. 


10 
Yrs. 


II 
Yrs. 


12 

Yrs. 


13 

Yrs. 


14 

Yrs. 


IS 
Yrs. 


16 

Yrs. 


17 
Yrs. 


18 

Yrs. 


3° 

40 

41 

42 

43 

44 

45 

46 

47 


34 
36 

38 
40 

42 
44 
46 
48 


35 
37 
39 

41 
42 
45 
47 
48 
49 
51 
53 


36 

38 
40 
42 
43 
45 
47 
49 
SO 
52 
54 
56 
59 
62 


43 
44 
46 
48 
50 
51 
53 
55 
57 
60 
63 
66 
68 


49 
51 
52 
54 
56 
58 
61 
64 
67 
69 
72 
76 


53 
55 
57 
59 
62 
65 
68 
70 
73 
77 
81 
85 
89 


56 
58 
60 
63 
66 
68 
7i 
74 
78 
82 
86 
90 
94 
99 
104 
109 


61 

64 

67 

69 

72 

75 

79 

83 

87 

9i 

95 

101 

106 

in 

US 

117 

119 


70 

73 

76 

80 

84 

88 

93 

97 

102 

107 

112 

117 

119 

121 

124 

126 

129 


77 

81 

85 

89 

94 

99 

104 

109 

113 

118 

120 
122 
126 
128 
131 
134 
138 


S6 
90 
95 
100 
106 
in 
115 
119 
122 
124 
127 
130 
133 
136 
140 
145 


9i 
96 
102 
108 
113 
117 
120 
123 
126 
128 
132 
135 
138 
142 
147 


93 
104 
109 
114 
118 
121 
124 
127 
129 
133 
136 
139 
143 
148 




48 




40 [ 




50 




51 
















S3 








54 




















56 
























58 




























60 












I0&- 


61 i 












62 














63 














115 
















1 1 9 


65 


















66 
















125 
12& 


















68 






































134 




















137 












































144 








1 






! 


I 









Prepared by Dr Thomas D. "Wood 



About what a girl should gain each month 

AGE AGE 

S*° 8 6oz. 14 to 16 8oz. 

8 to 11 8oz. 16 to 18 4 oz. 

II to 14 12 OZ. 

Weights and measures should be taken without shoes and in only the usual indoor clothes. 



17 









Height and 


weight table for boys 










Height 
Inches 


S 

Yrs. 


6 

Yrs. 


7 

Yrs. 


8 
Yrs. 


9 

Yrs. 


10 

Yrs. 


11 

Yrs. 


12 

Yrs. 


13 

Yrs. 


14 
Yrs. 


IS 
Yrs. 


16 

Yrs. 


17 
Yrs. 


18 
Yrs. 


39 

40 

4i 

42 

43 

44 

45 

46 


35 
37 
39 

41 
43 
45 
47 
48 


36 
38 
40 
42 
44 
46 
47 
49 
51 
S3 
55 


37 
39 
4i 
43 
45 
46 
48 
50 
52 
54 
56 
58 
60 
62 


44 
46 
47 
48 
50 
52 
55 
57 
59 
61 
63 
66 
69 


49 
5i 
53 
55 
58 
60 
62 
64 
67 
70 
73 
77 


54 
56 
58 
60 
63 
65 
68 
7i 
74 
78 
81 
84 
87 
9i 


57 
59 
61 
64 
67 
69 
72 
75 
79 
82 
85 
88 
92 
95 
100 
105 


62 

65 

68 

70 

73 

76 

80 

. 83 

86 

89 

93 

97 

102 

107 

113 


7i 

74 

77 

81 

84 

87 

90 

94 

99 

104 

109 

115 

120 

125 

130 

134 

138 


78 

82 

85 

88 

92 

97 

102 

106 

in 

117 

122 

126 

131 

135 

139 

142 

147 

IS2 
157 
162 


86 
90 
94. 
99 

104 
109 
114 
118 
123 
127 
132 
136 
140 
144 
149 
154 
159 
164 
169 
174 


9i 
96 
101 
106 

III 

us 

119 

124 
128 
133 
137 
141 
145 
150 
155 
160 
165 
170 
175 


97 
102 
108 
113 
117 
120 
125 
129 
134 
138 
142 
146 
ISI 
156 
161 
166 
171 
176 




48 












so 






51 












































56 












57 












58 




























60 














61 














62 














116 


63 
















64 
















65 


















66 




















67 




















68 




















69 




















70 




















71 




















152 


72 




















157 






























































1 




76 




































1 1 





Prepared by Dr Thomas D. Wood 



About what a boy should gain each month 



s to 8 6 oz. 

8 to 12 8 oz. 



AGE 
12 tO l6 l6 OZ. 

16 to 18 8 oz. 



Good nutrition directly or indirectly depends on a variety of 
conditions: an adequate supply of suitable food; sufficient sleep in 
well-ventilated rooms; exercise in the open air; avoidance of activity 
that is exhausting; freedom from obstruction in the respiratory 
passage, and good teeth. Of these, the largest single factor is an 
adequate supply of suitable food. Children must be taught that 
their bodies are literally made from the food they eat : that a body 
can be no stronger than the foods that build it. Therefore during 
the period of growth the foods that are rich in building material 
must be abundantly supplied. Limitation of space does not permit 
an explanation of the chemistry of food or of the principles of 
nutrition. One may confidently state, however, that that child is 
well nourished whose health habits are good and whose daily meals 



18 

are built on a foundation of milk (i quart a day) eggs, cereals (whole 
cereals to be used frequently), vegetables, fruits, with a moderate 
use of meat and fish; from whose diet tea and coffee are excluded, 
and whose digestive tract is protected against the injurious effects 
of rich pastry and hot breads. 



19 



Feed a growing child properly and you have helped 
to make a good citizen. Every child has the right 
to a useful body and mind, but in order to have either 
he must be given the right kind of food at the proper 
time. — Dr Mary Swartz Rose 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 331 140 2 



